1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a liquid, shelf stable, ready to use baker's wash for coating bakery products such as rolls, bread and pie crusts. The wash can be applied either before or after baking to provide a shine to the bakery product.
2. Prior Art
Dry powder tyoe baker washes are conventionally known in the art. Early baker washes consisted primarily of dried egg white and other ingredients, for example, a dissolving agent to help the dried egg white dissolve in water. An exemplary prior art dried egg white baker washes is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,115,592 to Bertquist et al. The Bertquist et al patent discloses a process for preparing dried egg white having improved flow and water solubility characteristics. The process produces a powder comprised primarily of dried egg white and sugar. When it is desired to use the powdered composition on bakery goods, the powder is dissolved in water and applied by spraying, brushing, or the like.
Egg white washes, like that of Bertquist et al, were not shelf stable. Once the egg white powder was dissolved in the water, it had to be used within about 8 hours. After one day, the microorganism growth became prohibitively high such that the wash could not longer be employed on bakery goods. For this reason, it was necessary to make a fresh wash mixture every day. Since the liquid wash was a good medium for microorganism growth, manufacturers of egg white washes supplied bakeries with the product in a powder form which had a longer shelf life. However, contamination of the dry egg white powder often occurred since it is capable of supporting microorganism growth, especially in humid conditions, since the egg white powder is hydrophillic. Making wash with contaminated egg white powder would accelerate microorganism growth so that the wash is unusable, or at best, the application time of the wash was greatly reduced.
In response to obvious abuses by bakeries, health departments of various states have now outlawed washes which employ egg white. Southern states having warm moist climates, such as the State of Louisiana, are particularly concerned with microorganism growth on food products. Accordingly, the southern states were generally the first states to outlaw the use of washes having an egg white composition.
In response to health concerns, manufacturers started developing washes which would produce a shine on bakery products, like the egg white composition wash, but would not contain egg white. Primarily, these dry formulations employed a protein substitute for the egg white, such as whey, and included additional ingredients necessary to make the whey perform in a similar manner as egg white. While these various protein compositions function in a manner very similar to the egg white composition washes, they do not serve as a medium for microorganism growth in dry powder form. However, these non-egg white composition free washes will support microorganism growth when the wash is in a liquid form; thus, the wash must be used within one day. Consequently, manufacturers, like the assignee of the present invention, manufactured a non-egg white wash in powdered form which had a more stable shelf life. Nevertheless, bakeries must still add the powdered product to water to create the wash.
Another problem sometimes experienced with the non-egg white composition washes is the failure of the end user to properly mix the correct proportion of powder with the right amount of water. For example, in using the non-egg white composition manufactured by the assignee, Baker's Bright Incorporated, three different proportions of powder are employed based upon different applications. The before oven application for bread or rolls requires 3.25 oz. of the powder composition to be mixed with 1 quart of warm water (120.degree.-130.degree. F.). The after oven application for bread or rolls requires 1.6-2.5 oz. of the powder composition to be mixed with 1 quart of warm water. The before oven application for pies only requires 4.0 oz. of the powder composition to be mixed with 1 quart of warm water and 2 oz. of vegetable oil. As stated previously, these different preparations of powder sometimes confuse the baker, resulting in bakery products which are less appealing to the consumer.
Further, once the composition has been mixed with the warm water, it must set for about one-half hour in order to fully dissolve, attain a uniform viscosity, and become homogeneous. Failure to permit the wash to set for about 30 minutes may result in an undissolved product having a lumpy composition which cannot be sprayed and which gives an undesirable appearance even if brushed on the bakery product because very little or no shine is produced.
Because of the potential improper mixing by the end user and the lag time before use, a need exists for a wash which does not contain any egg white, is ready to use in a liquid form, and is shelf stable. By shelf stable, it is meant a wash capable of lasting at least 21 days after opening, with proper refrigeration. In effect, a shelf stable wash must meet the minimum microorganism standards required by the FDA, both before and after opening. Once the microorganism level exceeds the minimum FDA requirements, the wash is no longer said to be shelf stable.
One of the chief characteristics of the present invention is to make a wash in a ready-to-use form so that it may be immediately employed upon opening by spraying or brushing the wash on bakery products.
The present invention is also intended to provide a wash which is shelf stable even after opening, although refrigeration may be required. In this regard it is desirable to provide a wash which is resistant to both gram positive and gram negative bacteria as well as yeast and mold.
Another characteristic of the present invention is to provide a wash which contains no lumps, produces a uniform sheen on bakery products and can easily be sprayed or brushed onto the bakery products as is desired.
Another aim of the present invention is to provide a wash which will impart to bakery products a sheen and can be applied to the bakery products either before or after the product is baked in an oven, which contains no egg products, is shelf stable, and is ready to use with no further steps being necessary to prepare the wash other than perhaps shaking the wash to assure a uniform composition.